Which path to choose in cyberpunk?

Nomad is the friendliest option for beginners, Street Kid is the most effective for role-playing purposes, and Corpo offers a more unique experience for those who have played the game before.

Which Lifepath should you choose in Cyberpunk 2077? In this Cyberpunk 2077 guide, we're going to give you an overview of the game's three available Lifepaths, and hopefully help you decide what kind of backstory you want your character to have.

There are three Lifepaths in Cyberpunk 2077:

You choose your Lifepath at the start of the game, before you even create your character's appearance. Your Lifepath is basically your character's background — where they're from and what kind of life they've lived up until this point.

Your Lifepath choice determines the prologue section of Cyberpunk 2077. The Lifepath prologues aren't very long — they can be completed in around an hour.

The Lifepath that you choose may also get you some exclusive quests further into the game.

What's more, your choice opens up Lifepath-specific dialogue options every now and then.

Lifepaths do not have an effect on your character's stats or abilities.

Before we get into the details, don't worry too much about choosing the "right" Lifepath in Cyberpunk 2077. There is no "best" Lifepath, and once you're in Night City, beyond the game's prologue, your Lifepath doesn't make a huge difference to how things play out. They're great for helping you feel more immersed in the game's world, though.

Now then, the Lifepaths themselves...

As a Nomad, you've spent your life travelling across the wastes of North America with your clan. In the Nomad prologue, you've parted ways with your clan, and you're now working for yourself. In Night City, Nomads are considered 'outsiders' or 'outcasts', who are often caught up in criminal activates, such as the smuggling of illegal or stolen goods.

Perfect for an outsider's perspective.

Nomad is the only Lifepath that doesn't start you off in Night City. Instead, you begin the game outside the city, in a desert known as the Badlands.

As a Streetkid, you grew up on the poverty-stricken streets of Night City, wheeling and dealing with all kinds of people — most of them criminals in one way or another. You're a punk in true Cyberpunk fashion — someone who's working their way out of the gutter by any means necessary.

Perfect for a rags-to-riches story.

The Streetkid Lifepath starts you out in a rundown, violent Nighty City district called Heywood.

As a Corpo, you're a cog in the corporate machine — someone who's looking to climb the company ladder no matter the cost. It's all about business, sabotage, and showing no mercy to those who get between you and personal success.

Perfect for a more cold-hearted character.

The Corpo Lifepath begins in the most foreboding business district of Night City.

Which Lifepath should you choose in Cyberpunk 2077? In this Cyberpunk 2077 guide, we're going to give you an overview of the game's three available Lifepaths, and hopefully help you decide what kind of backstory you want your character to have.

There are three Lifepaths in Cyberpunk 2077:

You choose your Lifepath at the start of the game, before you even create your character's appearance. Your Lifepath is basically your character's background — where they're from and what kind of life they've lived up until this point.

Your Lifepath choice determines the prologue section of Cyberpunk 2077. The Lifepath prologues aren't very long — they can be completed in around an hour.

The Lifepath that you choose may also get you some exclusive quests further into the game.

What's more, your choice opens up Lifepath-specific dialogue options every now and then.

Lifepaths do not have an effect on your character's stats or abilities.

Before we get into the details, don't worry too much about choosing the "right" Lifepath in Cyberpunk 2077. There is no "best" Lifepath, and once you're in Night City, beyond the game's prologue, your Lifepath doesn't make a huge difference to how things play out. They're great for helping you feel more immersed in the game's world, though.

Now then, the Lifepaths themselves...

As a Nomad, you've spent your life travelling across the wastes of North America with your clan. In the Nomad prologue, you've parted ways with your clan, and you're now working for yourself. In Night City, Nomads are considered 'outsiders' or 'outcasts', who are often caught up in criminal activates, such as the smuggling of illegal or stolen goods.

Perfect for an outsider's perspective.

Nomad is the only Lifepath that doesn't start you off in Night City. Instead, you begin the game outside the city, in a desert known as the Badlands.

As a Streetkid, you grew up on the poverty-stricken streets of Night City, wheeling and dealing with all kinds of people — most of them criminals in one way or another. You're a punk in true Cyberpunk fashion — someone who's working their way out of the gutter by any means necessary.

Perfect for a rags-to-riches story.

The Streetkid Lifepath starts you out in a rundown, violent Nighty City district called Heywood.

As a Corpo, you're a cog in the corporate machine — someone who's looking to climb the company ladder no matter the cost. It's all about business, sabotage, and showing no mercy to those who get between you and personal success.

Perfect for a more cold-hearted character.

The Corpo Lifepath begins in the most foreboding business district of Night City.

What's the best Cyberpunk 2077 lifepath for your V? Choosing your backstory is one of the first important decisions you'll make. You can pick between three personal histories for the opening of your game, each of which is unique.

Cyberpunk won't forget your decision after the prologue, either. Your choice will be woven much deeper in the game, influencing your dialogue options, quests, and more throughout your adventures in Night City. In this guide, we'll help you make an informed decision when picking between Cyberpunk 2077's lifepaths. Here's what you'll need to know.

Fancy playing the part of an Arasaka counterintel agent? When you've worked your way to the top, it seems as though there's only one way to go, so you're in a sticky spot at the beginning of this intro. Everyone's on edge and it looks like it's your responsibility to clean up this mess.

Corpo V is uniquely clued up on everything Corporate, so you can use this to your advantage to trip up others, and even persuade them to do things for you. Others within the company depend on you, but someone you think might be trustworthy can turn on you quickly. Your experience makes it a lot harder for others to influence you, unless they happen to be your boss, of course.

Don't expect Corpo V to be a ruthless, cruel negotiator no matter the playthrough, though. You can use their biz experience both to work with and work over the corporate elite of Night City, with some helpful dialogue choices offered up on the side of some smaller players in and outside the city. But the Corpo path also means you can usually extract whatever you want from whoever you want, without explicit force. If you want every last drop of intel and eddies in your pocket no matter who gets burned, the Corpo path is definitely for you (you delicious monster).

James Davenport finished the game (and wrote our Cyberpunk 2077 review (opens in new tab)) as a reformed Corpo V and dug how well his intended roleplaying path was supported throughout, even if the meaningful Corpo dialogue choices are pretty rare. Most often the Corpo dialogue options are there just to color in your character and rarely influence quest outcomes, but the Corpo options are frequent and diverse enough to keep the head canon running.

As Corpo V you understand that you need to do whatever it takes to get results, and there's no such thing as playing fair.

As the Nomad, you start off in the Badlands, the arid desert stretching around the periphery of Night City. You've broken away from your clan and you're traveling solo, but you won't be alone for long. You're leaving Southern California and making your way to Night City to begin a life there, but there's a job to do first. There's some questionable cargo that needs to be taken across the border and it's on you to ensure it slips through safely.

As you're experienced in this line of work, it'll come in handy later down the line. You'll have Nomad dialogue options in some conversations that'll let you draw on your knowledge and use it to negotiate. It may just score you some info for free. Then there are quests and characters that'll be tailored to your backstory, too.

Emma enjoyed the Nomad intro as V is getting ready to start fresh in the city, and this eases you into the game comfortably. If you like being nosey, it's interesting to get a feel for the area and check out the town before zooming off in your car, even though you can't speak to many characters at first.

Driving off-road in the Badlands desert is also great fun, so set a little bit of time aside to test out your car. Later on, the Nomad dialogue options have been useful for digging deeper for more information in quests, and they help you stay on the right side of certain characters. With regards to Nomad V's values, if being honest and having strong moral principles is a high priority for you, Nomad is the way to go.

The Street Kid knows the city well, and it's fair to say that you're used to getting into scraps. This story starts in the El Coyote Cojo Bar in Heywood, where you'll take on a job to help your friend, who's having some money troubles. You'll meet a few characters along the way, including Padre, who V is already familiar with.

This intro gives you a brief glimpse at the friction between gangs in the area, and you can see that tensions are running high. Street Kid V has their family and friends at heart, so it's natural that you'll want to stand your ground against other gangs. However, having deep roots in the city and lots of connections going back years also gives you an edge. When speaking to other gang members, you'll have more options to extract information without parting with cash or having to use force.